Details emerge in accident that claimed the life of a longtime local educator

The Cumberland Times News reports a LaVale man killed Sunday on Interstate 95 was stopped in heavy traffic when the vehicle he was riding in was struck from behind. The Georgia State Patrol said Wednesday that Louis Petronella, 82, died in the 1:10 p.m. crash that also injured his wife, Rebecca Ursula Petronella, 69. Police said Louis Petronella was a passenger in a 2011 Lincoln MK SUV that was being operated north by his wife. Their vehicle was struck from behind by a 2016 Ford Transit van operated by Horacio Alejandro Senn, 58, of Orange City, Florida, and also occupied by Sandra Christina Marchesin Senn. Rebecca Petronella and both Senns were injured and taken to Memorial Hospital in Savannah. Police said charges are pending completion of further investigation by the Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team. Petronella was a well-known educator in Allegany and Mineral counties.